COLUMBIA, Ky. - The Madonna University softball team showed grit and determination in the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round Columbia, Ky. Bracket to earn the program's first-ever opening round championship with a 4-2 win over No. 14 Saint Xavier University (Ill.) on Wednesday afternoon at Marilyn D. Sparks Park. 

The Crusaders earned the program's fifth World Series appearance, but first in the current format which began in 2013. From 2005-13 the NAIA used a pool play format followed by a double-elimination tournament and MU failed to escape pool play in their three trips (2009, 10, 12). The Crusaders' first trip came in 1994 when the tournament was a 16-team, double-elimination bracket and MU went 2-2 that season, falling in eight innings to Kennesaw State (Ga.), 4-1.

Kattie Popko got Madonna off on the right foot in the first inning as she drove a 2-2 pitch over the left field fence for her second home run of the day to give MU the 1-0 lead. Three hits in the third for the Cougars tied the game, but the MU offense took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame with three runs on three hits and an error. 

Makayla Bassage started the inning with a single up the middle, Amy Clegg walked, and Popko loaded the bases with a two-out walk. Emily Pawelski drove in the go-ahead run with a single to left and Brooklyn Dolloff delivered the game-winning hit with a two-run single to left center for the 4-1 lead. 

In the fifth, the Cougars loaded the bases and scored a run on a fielder's choice before Maeson Schlaud induced a groundout and notched a strikeout to end the frame. In the seventh, SXU again threatened as the leadoff batter reached, but a groundout, a flyout to the wall in center, and a popup to second gave MU the win.
 

TICKET PUNCHED! Crusaders headed to programs first ever NAIA Softball World Series! pic.twitter.com/hey0zCwn7q

— Madonna Softball (@MUCrusadersSB) May 19, 2021

Schlaud, the freshman ace for the Crusaders, improved to 3-0 in the bracket as she allowed two runs on seven hits with four walks and six strikeouts in a complete-game effort. She averaged 8.67 strikeouts per game and finished with a bracket-best 26. 

After tallying five hits in game one, the Crusaders posted four hits in the win with Popko, Pawelski, Dolloff and Bassage recording one each. Popko drove in one and scored twice while Dolloff drove in two. Dolloff went 5-for-12 in the bracket, the fourth-best average at .417, while Popko led the bracket in runs scored (4) and home runs (3).  



The Crusaders return to the field on Thursday, May 27 at 7 p.m. as they face third-seeded and 12th-ranked Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.). The Crusaders are the sixth seed in the double-elimination tournament that will get underway on Thursday at 10 a.m. at the South Commons Softball Complex in Columbus, Georgia, built for the 1996 Olympic Games. 

All games in the championship will be video-streamed by Stretch Internet on NAIANetwork.com with the championship airing on ESPN3. 

CONNECT WITH THE CRUSADERS: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
SUBSCRIBE/DOWNLOAD TEAM SCHEDULES: Download Center
DOWNLOAD THE NEW MOBILE APP: Google Play | iOS